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Starring: Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, Viggo Mortensen,
David Suchet, Sarita Choudhury. Directed by Andrew Davis.
Distributed by Universal / Warner Bros. Produced by Stephen Brown.
Written by Frederick Knott.
"Is that it?!!?" will probably
be the refrain as you take leave of 'A Perfect Murder'. And this is inspite of the talented Michael Douglas, whose portrayal of a sleazy rich person
in recent movies, will be hard to beat for a long time.
The plot is fairly commonplace. Husband on shaky financial grounds hires
wife's lover to kill her. The title 'A Perfect Murder', suggests a meticulous build up, in true
'Holmesian' tradition, towards a gory cause. The first half of the movie does have
its heart-stopping
moments.
Striking camera angles (a bit overdone towards the end, especially of the penthouse), crisp
editing which leaves you gasping at times and above all, superb music that
lends the perfect edge to some scenes.
When the murder attempt goes awry, the script and with it, the movie loses direction and your attention.
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'A Perfect Murder' is a remake of the 1954 Hitchcock classic, 'Dial M for Murder', prompting
one critic to rename this 1998 version, 'Dial M for Mediocrity'. There are those who
believe that this is a better version, which is being unfair to the original. Michael
Douglas is a treat to watch and hear, as usual. Gwyneth Paltrow's portrayal of the rich wife
suffers from superficial characterisation. The rich wife shifts from being the helpless
girl to a sure-fisted adversary in the span of just two consecutive scenes. Viggo Mortensen
as the lover with a criminal record of seducing rich girls is convincing and consistent.
Too much cannot be said against the movie considering its classic roots, but
Hitchcock or no Hitchcock, the embarassingly tame end will not satisfy the thriller-
hardened 90's viewer.
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